Khekiye K. Sema
The acrimonious concept of ushering in equality between man and woman through 33% women reservation acquired a stature of a social storm at the stage of filing nomination for the ULB election. An enhanced controversy centred on withdrawal of candidacy from the fray is now slowly gaining a momentum of a hurricane. In the absence of matured reasoning we are probably staring at a potentiality chaotic social tsunami sweeping across the State if Mr. T.R. Zaliang shuts down his thinking faculties and adamantly puts into motion the final ULB election process knowing well that this will be an outright challenge to the civil society. One fails to understand why NPF/DAN Government is in such a reckless hurry to implement this highly polarised ULB election with everything pointing towards a negative outcome. The only poor excuse thus far shared by the Chief Minister in support of ULB election with 33% WR to gain central funding is not good enough. While it is not a crime wanting to tap “Central Resources” for Urban Development, it is neither an opportune time nor sufficient a reason worth the cost of ripping the social order of the Nagas asunder with hatred amongst ourselves in replacement. Considering that nominations have been confirmed in a few urban centres only, the final outcome will also be subjected to this partial disjointed election that can only establish urban bodies in few Districts/townships. This half measure exercise will become all the more redundant when the citizens start their non-cooperative reactions against such municipalities even after it is established. This religious reliance on money overpowering our judgement is getting apparent by the days.
Deliberately antagonising the majority somehow shows a poor political craftsmanship of the reigning government to endanger the party prospects so close to the forthcoming Assembly election. The probable deduction that the electorate has short memory and can easily be bought with money no matter what the current controversy may be when 2018 assembly election arrives…could be a costly miscalculation. Rightly or wrongly this issue touches the core sentiment of traditional mindset of the male population and could very well become the focus of a political main plank, added to the tainted picture of blatant corrupt and nepotism ridden incumbent Government, on which an election could be fought. At this juncture, the majority can only see an overzealous Government that has cast caution to the wind, divorcing rationality and turning the State upside down in its relentless pursuit for money. The manner in which our Chief Minister is hastily going about addressing this subject at the cost of compromising sensible social equilibrium tends to display downright reckless immaturity.
As a welfare State, the Government is expected to maintain not only the material but also the mental wellbeing of its people as its primary concern. Taking an overview of the year 2016, our Chief Minister seems to have achieved just the opposite in almost all the parameters that matters to the people thus far. He has water cannoned, tear gassed and lathi-charged the voices of dissent against his corrupt Government and has determinedly protected the interest of criminals that control the system. Not being satisfied with fishing in a muddied rural pond of Nagaland that has already been drained off its resources, he has impatiently gone one step further to deliberately alienate the people to seek greater pleasure of fishing in urban financial pond at the cost of creating chronic social discord. Judging from the tempo of aggression being expressed by the Tribal Apex organisations the CM, in all likelihood, will have to once again call out his water cannon and tear gas robot squads in NAP uniform and lathi-charge the civil disobedience movement that seems eminent…to solve his self-engineered problems.
This serious rift that is being perpetuated within the Naga community is totally an unnecessary approach to put women at par with men. All in all it is a no-win situation that is likely to leave behind an ugly scar within the Naga community. Rather than push this subject to a critical level of confrontation, we should be looking at a better alternative option to achieve the same goal with a modicum of “patience”. It makes better senses not to let money fog our judgement and consider the following long-term options with additions and subtractions as deemed fit:
1. First postpone the ULB election;
2. Then take time and set up a statutory “Supreme Customary Law Court” (SCLC) consisting of knowledgeable, reputed, senior DBs/GBs from each Tribe capable of dealing with their respective Tribal customary Laws as well as Customary Laws that have common applications across the board;
3. While each Tribe has their respective Customary Laws divergent from the other in many sectors, there too are sectors that have common practices such as the customary law on inheritance, the status definition of women in the society and so on. Let this Supreme Customary Law Court be empowered to amend customary law and practices that have become obsolete within their respective Tribes and also address and amend customary laws common to all Tribes deemed necessary for amendment;
The important perspective in this exercise would be that the Nagas will have a statutory “Supreme Customary Law Court” (SCLC) that is empowered to strengthen or amend customary Laws that needs revision or have become obsolete and thereby ensure that Article 371 A becomes a true Constitutional protection for our Naga Identity limiting the scope of any misinterpretation by our adversary at any given point in time. While such an exercise will be a time consuming effort it is nevertheless an indispensable necessity which must first be achieved rather than take irrational short cuts that could be detrimental to the Nagas identity in the long run.
Khekiye K. Sema is a former IAS officer.
He can be contacted at kksema@gmail.com
